NBC has "delayed Community indefinitely". there are 13 episodes shot. We may or may not get to see them.
Now, if you are like most of the world you are saying "what's Community?". True, I've seen the ratings, and like only a million people in the world watch this show. However, that tiny group of fans are the most disproportionally vocal fans in the world; it seems the incredibly small viewership of Community is entirely composed of direhards. If anything were to happen to this show, NBC might want to amp up security.
Now feasibly, if you're reading a blog about Community, that probably applies to you.
But, in case you don't know community (or, like those of us you do, just like reading about it) I am going to explain Community to you. Everything that happened, at Greendale community college and behind the camera.
So, ok, why does everyone lose their shit over this show?
At first, Community initially was a sit com about a gang of misfits in community college who learn how to be a makeshift family. Initially, They spent about 3/4 of the first season developing characters and relationships in a community college environment. Then, Dan Harmon and the rest of the writers decided "Let's do whatever the fuck we want!".
Most of the rest of the show became homage episodes. You how Scrubs would do their Wizard of Oz episode or their 4 camera sit com episode, or when Psych did its Bollywood episode? Yeah, it's like that about once a season, and the whole show of the feel changes.
Except NO. They started doing this more frequently than "Community-style" episodes.
Here's a comprehensive (I hope, point it out if I missed any) list of all of the homage episodes in the last quarter of season 1 on:
- Buddy Cop Movies
- Mob Movies
- Action/Apocalypse Movies
- Fraternity Movies
- Wedding Episodes
- Astronaut Movies
- Biblical Epics
- Zombie Movies
- Mean Girls and/or Secret Garden/Lost (it’s a weird episode, with a trampoline)
- Bottle Episodes
- Conspiracy Thriller/Mystery Movies
- Claymation Christmas TV Specials
- Dungeons and Dragons/Fantasy Epics
- Mocumentary Shows (Modern Family/The Office, etc.)
- Election Episodes
- Pulp Fiction…but actually My Dinner with Andre
- A Clip Show, but comprised of previously unseen clips
- Spaghetti Westerns
- Star Wars
- Film Noir (Chang Noir)
- Something that can only be described as “The Timelines Episode”
- Ghost Stories
- Behind the Scenes Documentaries/Hearts of Darkness
- Glee
- Ken Burn’s “Civil War”
- Law and Order
- The “It Was All in Your Head!” Episode
- 8-Bit Video Games
- Heist Movies
Secondly, series star Ken Jeong has called Community "the live action Simpsons. There is no small part on this show". Here is a(n even bigger list) of all the characters of the ever expanding, Springfield esque cast. Everyone is a character.
- Jeff Winger
- Britta Perry
- Abed Nadir
- Troy Barnes
- Annie Edison
- Shirley Bennett
- Pierce Hawthorne
- Senior Chang
- Dean Craig Pelton
- Star-Burns
- Leonard
- Prof Duncan
- Prof Slater
- Prof Whitman
- Prof Garrity/Professorson
- Vice Dean Laybourne
- Prof Bauer
- Prof Kane
- Garrett
- Magnitude
- Vicki
- Fat Neil
- Vaughn
- Dr. Rich
- Pavel
- Quendra
- Todd
- Andre Bennett
- Elijah, Jordan, & Ben Bennett
- Gobi Nadir
- Dean Spreck
- Jerry thePlumber
- Annie’s Boobs (the monkey, but also her rack)
- Murray the AC guy
- Officer Cackowski
- Sgt. Nunez
- Nurse Jackie
- Mike the Bully
- Buddy
- The Black Rider
- Rabbi Chang
- The Changlorious Basterds
- Alan Connor
- Groundskeeper Joshua
- Levar Burton as Himself
- Luis Guzman as Himself
- French Stewart as Vinnie the French Stewart Impersonator
- Cornelius Hawthorne
- Prof Sheffield
- Prof Cligoris
- Prof Radison/ Mr Rad
- Subway
- Carl and Ritchie
- Gilbert Lawson
- And of course, Evil Abed.
I actually revised this list, trimmed the fat down to recurring characters/major guest stars.. This show has amassed more characters in three seasons than anyone ever.
This show messes with everything you know about TV. The major arc of the first season was a "will they or won't they?" plot involving Jeff and Britta. Finally, in the monumental Paintball episode, they do.
And then what happens, you ask?!
They become fuck buddies for a year.
Yeah, they did what no other TV couple ever did and finally resolved to not date, but still hook up. And you're not even mad about it.
Also, Abed is this show's secret weapon. In a world where every other episode is an homage, Abed is usually the facilitator.
Abed has Aspergers Syndrome and can't tell life from TV. The writers have not, are not, and will not ever be afraid to let him break the fourth wall.
and I can't possibly get into the plotline when he was on Cougar Town as Abed... whole nother can of worms...
Every episode ends with a tag that is, most of the time, better than the episode themselves
More importantly, this show has a cult following. And not just a cult following like "oh, a few people are really into Twin Peaks", no. There's a damn religion about this show, operated by the fans.
For example, take last year, when NBC moved Community to mideason replacement. The world got crazy; there was a spontaneous riot outside of NBC's offices chock full of the most obscure Community lines ever. They took an obscure line (Six seasons and a movie) and turned it into a rallying cry.
This wasn't just bring back Firefly, these Community fans are nuts. Here's another example: the video game in the 8-bit video game episode? The fans made it a real thing.
Now, you may know, there was real life drama surrounding community. There's an epic Buzzfeed article describing it the only way I (or Abed) would understand it, via another TV show. Let me paraphrase it:
Dan Harmon and Chevy Chase got in a very public fight.
And the show took a fall ratings wise
The Community fans cried "Save it, NBC!"
And NBC said, ORLY? PROBLEM?
And we got a fourth season for Community. But it would air Friday nights at 8:30 after Whitney and Dan Harmon was fired. So, we should have been much more specific.
As Dan Harmon's swan song while anticipating cancellation, he wrote a beautiful last scene the wrapped up ever plot line, kept every plot line open, and told the fans he loved them.
So whats the deal with the show now?
So then the show got picked up to be run by Moses Port and David Guarascio.
Let me be clear: this was a wonderful show that no one watched. It compared the plight of Muslims in America to the plight of nerds in High School. That is the greatest one sentence premise for a show ever.
Seemingly, the transition to Greendale community college would be easy.
And nothing ever is.
A week before the Season 4 was gonna start, NBC announced that Community would not be on on October 19th. Delayed indefinitely was the diagnosis; they said it would be back, just not immediately. Apparently, reruns of The Voice would get higher ratings anyway.
- PRO: we won't have to deal with this Friday timeslot
- CONS: WHAT DO YOU MEAN DELAYED INDEFINITELY?
- You can't air a Halloween episode in February!
- NBC hates us...
However, if we learned anything through this, it's that the cast of Community, Moses and David, and somehow, the characters, love us.
Community will be back. On TV, on DVD, even if they have to do the rest on Netflix after it's been cancelled for 6 years (dream come true, btw), we will see it. Showrunners and casts say that they love their fans all the time. This is the only time I've actually felt it. This is true love that Joel and the gang has for us. Wanna know how I know they love us? Because no other lead actor on a show does this:
a guy on twitter said he couldn't wait for new episodes of Community. and Joel replied.
SIX SEASONS AND A MOVIE, although I'd be fine with either 4 seasons, or 6 with the last two on TBS...
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